FORT WORTH, TX—The Kimbell Art Museum is enhancing its discount admission program by including additional half-price admission days for the exhibition Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes, on view through September 8, 2013. In addition to discounted admission on Tuesdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays, the Kimbell will offer half-price tickets on Saturdays from August 10 through the close of the exhibition. This will allow weekend Museum visitors to see the priceless Wari objects now on view at the Kimbell for less. “As we are reaching the close of this groundbreaking exhibition,” commented Eric M. Lee, the Museum’s director, “we want to extend the opportunity for more of our community to experience firsthand the exquisite artwork of this sophisticated civilization.”

Wari: Lords of the Ancient AndesThe exhibition is the first in North America devoted to the art of the Wari, the ancestors of the Inca who, between 600 and 1000, created a complex society that many today regard as ancient Peru’s first empire. This momentous exhibition explores the Wari’s artistic achievements through more than 145 startlingly beautiful objects highlighting all major media in which they worked—polychrome ceramics, ornaments made of precious metals or colorful mosaics, sculpted wood and stone objects and textiles of striking complexity.

As predecessors of the Inca Empire, the Wari had no previous example of expansionist states to draw upon and thus represent a major development in Andean civilization. Unlike their Maya contemporaries, the Wari never developed a written language. Thus, modern opinion about their achievement is based exclusively on their artwork and other material remains. In the absence of writing, the artworks that circulated throughout Wari society acted as vehicles of communication, recording and preserving the way in which the Wari regarded themselves, nature and the divine realm.

Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes is organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art. It has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. It is supported in part by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Promotional support is provided by American Airlines, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and NBC5.

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Kimbell Art Museum hours: Tuesday–Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Friday, noon–8 p.m.; Sunday, noon–5 p.m.; closed Monday. For general information, call 817-332-8451. Website: www.kimbellart.org. Address: 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107.*Admission to view the Museum’s permanent collection is always FREE.**Admission to this exhibition is $16 for adults; $14 for seniors age 60 and over and for students with an ID; $12 for children ages 6­–11; and FREE for children under 6 and for Museum members. Admission is half-price on Tuesdays, Saturdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays through the remainder of this exhibition.